Sylviebead Journal

It's Tuesday and BRRRRRRRR it's cold here!

And it's supposed to get even colder this week!!! It's a good week for Uggs. That's for sure! Ugliest footwear ever but SO warm! (and sometimes warm wins over fashionable!)

It's been very beady around me lately. My new round of classes has started. Everyone has their first assignments and is getting to know each other. I'm really excited.

The thread in Wet Canvas seems to be fairly quiet, so I'm not having quite the panic that I was yesterday about being inundated with requests to join. I did get several, but it could have been much worse (not really WORSE... more like overwhelming) if it had been in its own thread in that newsgroup. A LOT of people read that group, so I couldn't handle a swarm of people... besides the fact that I'm not really getting PAID to teach it. I'm not sure that I need to be offering a free workshop to the entire world of beadmaking.

(I did think it funny that someone called the class "Finding Your Face" and that other people use an abbreviation for it FYV... I had no clue that I had an acronym!!!)

ANYWAYS...I'm HOPING that I'll be hired to teach the class again some day (for money and in person), but it really is a hard class to get people to pay for. Beadmakers seem to be completely comfortable paying $400 and up for a class that teaches them to make MY beads, but not to help them develop their own style. I get it and I'm SURE not criticizing the fact that people want to take my class and learn my techniques... that's really flattering (and a financially good thing when it happens). I'd just like to be able to teach this other class as well. It is one that people who have taken it, LOVE and it's done a lot for their creative development... and as an instructor that's really rewarding.

So, that's the reason, I'm doing it as a free workshop for now... because it's positive PR AND it's a good thing to do... help people find their voice and hopefully go out and make totally unique beads that sing their own song.

I'm doing other beady things as well... tonight I might make some beads for a couple of hours, but for the most part, I'm CLEANING beads... all these bunches of baby beads have to get cleaned before they can get sold.... so if you're waiting to BUY beads... you might be waiting for a while. Keep watching the website... you'll definitely know when the beads are finally up and ready for sale.

I miss my bead divas... the ones who worked for me and kept me organized and helped with bead cleaning!!! Maybe some day I can bring them back.... we'll see how things go this year.

So... what am I planning??? I'm not thinking that I'll be doing ebay anytime soon. I've been watching it and it's not the right time. It's really not the right time for ANY sort of bead stuff, but since that's what I do and HAVE to do (not because I'm being forced, but because there's a part of me that needs to make art).

I think, for now, it's just going to be a small amount of lampwork on my website along with my kits. There are some other possibilities, but for now, that's all I have planned... but that's more than I had in 2008, so I'm making progress!!!

Hopefully I'll get that in action soon!!!

The next hurdle will be finding my way back into shows and teaching. If any of you 20 readers knows of places that might have me come teach... tell them!!! tell me!!!! I figure my world-domination might need to include some teaching gigs!!! :)

SO... someone get those Alaska beadmakers here (1. so I can add that to the list of states reading the blog and 2. so I can teach at the cool studio there) ALSO if any of you have connections at Beadstock... I really really really want to teach there, so any good word you can put in for me would be great!

What good is this blog if I'm not using you 20 readers to help me??? LOL


ok... tiny blah blah blah

brought to you again by my Aunt Janie and Uncle Jim... I haven't finished using their gift card from Christmas yet. THANK YOU AGAIN!!!!!!!! :)

coffee - VCDL (look! I have an abbreviation for that too!!! :)

music - I'm on my 2nd playlist of the day... the first was my mellow classic rock one (lots of Jackson Browne and Tom Petty stuff), now I'm on my Long Mellow List. It's more of a quiet day than yesterday.